Monday, 10 August 2015

No 11469, Monday 10 Aug 2015, Incognito


Links galore in the blog today.

ACROSS
1   Hat worn by sober Romeo and Oscar (8) SOMBRERO {SOMBRE}{R}{O}
5   Taint in having astigmatism (6) STIGMA [T]
10 Turn, grin awkwardly and dismantle (5) UNRIG {U}{GRIN*}
11 Main river flows in this city (9) FRANKFURT [CD]
12 Covers battlefields (6) FRONTS [DD]
13 Cabal one supported had creatures! (8) ABALONES [T]
15 A comb contains nothing to measure volume (5) COOMB {CO{O}MB}
17 English poet, Pope and Macedonian king (9) ALEXANDER [MD]
19 Tattoo shop issued a circular letter and made a copy (9) PHOTOSTAT {TATTOO+SHoP}*
20 Erasable programmable read only memory was created by a pro(me!) (5) EPROM*
21 Climb up again when Sappers & Army Service Corps finish (8) REASCEND {RE}{ASC}{END}
23 Ha! Told atrocious and hackneyed stuff (3-3) OLD-HAT*
27 Melting plastic in South Korea? Funny, sort of ... (9) SLAPSTICK {S{PLASTIC*}K}
28 Little Augustus went back around Hospital Road to raise shoulder (5) SHRUG {S{H}{R}UG<=}
29 Naturist in birthday dress (6) NUDIST [DD]
30 Place in your head where you might find a hammer, an anvil and a stirrup (5,3) INNER EAR [GK]

DOWN
1   A kind of movie about a kind of tobacco (5) SNUFF [DD]
2   After naval commandos fire the first shell, Petty Officer holds old port for an explorer (5,4) MARCO POLO {MARCOs} {P{O}{L}O}
3   Every cruciverbalist must have his book, perhaps, or get baffled (5) ROGET* Semi&lit
4   Right behind the boat (4) RAFT {R}{AFT}
6   Have a day off and be gone (4,5) TAKE LEAVE [DD]
7   Elementary! Particle is found by lounging around without gin (5) GLUON LOUNginG*
8   Ruminates about blood component containing antibodies (9) ANTISERUM*
9   Sliced bread dipped in bath gives halitosis (3,6) BAD BREATH {BA{D BREA*}TH}
14 This company lost stock at the Boston tea party (4,5) EAST INDIA [GK]
15 Decorate an elephant when French capital is invested in acorn processing instead of the Rand (9) CAPARISON {CA{PARIS}ONr*}
16 Record infringements on furniture in library (9) BOOKCASES {BOOK}{CASES}
18 Black stallion is a surprise winner (4,5) DARK HORSE {DARK} {HORSE}
22 A drawback to get a prize (5) AWARD {A}{WARD<=}
24 Cotton fabric from erstwhile Lille (5) LISLE Anno not clear. Erstwhile as Homophone indicator? [GK] See comments
25 Capt. Pataudi, Tipu Sultan and Gen. Niazi's animal? (5) TIGER [MD]
26 Similar to a relative (4) AKIN {A}{KIN}

GRID

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43 comments:

  1. SandhyaP10 August 2015 at 08:37

    24 Cotton fabric from erstwhile Lille (5) LISLE

    Lisle is the former name of Lille. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Lisle

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nadathur Rajan10 August 2015 at 08:39

    24d. erstwhile - old name.
    The foundation of the city is as "L'Isle" in 640. [Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lille ]
    The thread lisle is named after Lisle, France, where it was first made.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mukundala Balasubramanyam10 August 2015 at 08:44

    Had to earn my samosas today! Felt the crossie was a bit on the tougher side. Nevertheless an enjoyable solve. Thank you, Incognito. :-)))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kishore10 August 2015 at 08:48

      Trying to monitor your diet ... But to no avail

      Delete
    2. Mukundala Balasubramanyam10 August 2015 at 08:50

      :)

      Delete
    3. Padmanabhan10 August 2015 at 08:59

      Neyartha, perhaps, may do a better job. Bit nowadays he has also been generous!

      Delete
    4. Kishore10 August 2015 at 09:50

      हम आपकी तबियत और खैरियत चाहते थे, मगर,
      यह काम आप केलिए परसोही करवाएगा स्कलडगर

      Delete
    5. Padmanabhan10 August 2015 at 11:33

      Thoda Hindi tho malum hi- Looking forward to S.

      Delete
    6. Padmanabhan10 August 2015 at 11:36

      Magar uske pehle aapka aur ek hi na?
      I may be doing it at a high level- while flying to Kochi en route to Guruvayur, but with no chance of entering the blog.

      Delete
    7. Vasant10 August 2015 at 13:12

      Aagaz e hindi ka matlab
      Hindi mein crossword?

      Delete
  4. Kishore10 August 2015 at 08:46

    Sandy and NR are right. Btw, yours truly does not have stirrups ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deepak Gopinath10 August 2015 at 08:54

      You still manage to stirrup everything ...

      Delete
    2. Padmanabhan10 August 2015 at 08:57

      Make up for the missing links!

      Delete
    3. Kishore10 August 2015 at 08:59

      Good to see Deepak having pun

      Delete
    4. Richard10 August 2015 at 16:31

      सहवास दोष!

      Delete
    5. Kishore10 August 2015 at 17:50

      ಅಂಟುರೋಗ ... I thought of using the Hindi equivalent, but it's a dicey term... a slip of one consonant or so will render me liable ...

      Delete
  5. Abhay10 August 2015 at 08:54

    Nice set of clues, Incognito. I especially liked 3 and 5. Thanks to you and DG.

    A question - addressed to all setters - triggered by 11: it is a clue that can be solved conclusively only if one has at least 1-2 crossing letters in place. How many such clues (that can't really be solved cold) may one have in one puzzle?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kishore10 August 2015 at 08:58

      Not too many I suppose.

      Delete
    2. Deepak Gopinath10 August 2015 at 09:01

      None in my view

      Delete
    3. Chaturvasi10 August 2015 at 09:08

      My answer:
      You're confusing two issues.
      A crossword can have many clues that can be solved cold. Once long ago I cold-solved all except three in an Everyman crossword of some 30/32 clues.
      A crossword may have clues from which you are not able to solve even a single one straight off in your first pass.
      Here the problem (if I may call it a problem) is that the clue seems to be a GK or CD. Period. That you can solve only when you have got some crossings is not in our consideration...
      After all, a crossword is called thus because you have words in a criss-cross fashion and some you solve with the help of crossings. Checked letters are very much the part of a crossword.

      Delete
    4. Padmanabhan10 August 2015 at 09:14

      It depends on the ability/ knowledge of the solver in the various topics covered.

      Delete
    5. Abhay10 August 2015 at 09:53

      Thanks to all those who replied.

      CV: I am dividing clues into two broad categories:

      1. Those that can have only one right answer and can thus be solved cold (most clues with wordplay fall into this category, as do many CD/DD/GK clues); and
      2. Those that may have more than one right answer (some CD/GK clues) and need the checking letters to confirm which one fits there. Take 11a here, for instance: the course of the Main river has at least 5 other 9-letter cities (other than Frankfurt); given that crossword setters often use less-known cities, it is not a given that the answer *is* Frankfurt. Thus, the correct answer will be known for sure only when (at least some of) the checked letters show up.

      My question was: how many of the latter kind may one put in without being unfair to the solver? I am not saying that checked letters shouldn't play a part in determining the answer - of course they should - but am simply wondering how many clues with more than one possible solution may be kosher in one puzzle.

      Delete
    6. Abhay10 August 2015 at 09:54

      I should clarify that I am asking this from the perspective of an amateur setter.

      Delete
    7. Chaturvasi10 August 2015 at 10:13

      First of all apolgies for having missed the true intent of your query and replying tangentially.
      Now I would think that no crossword clue should admit of two answers. A clue, whatever the type, must surle and inexorably lead to the single intended answer.
      If a clue admits of more than one answer it is a flaw.

      Delete
    8. Abhay10 August 2015 at 12:11

      Thank you, CV that's helpful.

      Delete
    9. Kishore10 August 2015 at 13:02

      I agree wholeheartedly with CV - no clue should give more than one answer. An additional definition, indication or wp should be there. My sincere apologies

      Delete
  6. Padmanabhan10 August 2015 at 08:56

    Thank you Incognito for the nice enjoyable workout & breakfast!

    ReplyDelete
  7. SandhyaP10 August 2015 at 09:00

    19 Tattoo shop issued a circular letter and made a copy (9) PHOTOSTAT {TATTOO+SHoP}*

    MADE is not part of the defn. - it is the anagrind

    ReplyDelete
  8. RameshJ10 August 2015 at 09:25

    Loved the image for Caparison. From Thrissur pooram?

    ReplyDelete
  9. C.G. BHARGAV10 August 2015 at 10:07

    The crossing letters are like additional clues within a clue... The very idea of a crossword puzzle is to keep entering the solutions in the grid as and when they are solved!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Padmanabhan10 August 2015 at 11:28

    Re. Frankfurt, one valid additional point is the 'Main' river. It reduces the no. of 9 letter worded cities (esp. fairly known ones) along Main river.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Padmanabhan10 August 2015 at 11:29

    Talking about amateur solvers, I depend on crossings quite frequently.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Abhay10 August 2015 at 11:38

    Nice set of clues, Incognito. I especially liked 3 and 5. Thanks to you and DG.

    A question - addressed to all setters - triggered by 11: it is a clue that can be solved conclusively only if one has at least 1-2 crossing letters in place. How many such clues (that can't really be solved cold) may one have in one puzzle?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. C.G. BHARGAV10 August 2015 at 11:51

      A clue that a setter thinks needs crossing letters may be cold solved by a solver and vice-versa, IMO.

      Delete
    2. Bhalchandra Pasupathy10 August 2015 at 12:02

      I don't think there are any rules written down anywhere, but obviously shouldn't be too many. Maybe 2-3 in a puzzle could be OK. Say 1 CD, 1 DD (which sometimes does admit more than one answer but for crossings - and this as CV says is not kosher), and perhaps 1 which might refer to another clue or solution in the puzzle itself. Some combination of these which might result in 2-3.

      Delete
    3. Abhay10 August 2015 at 12:10

      Thank you! That's helpful.

      Delete
    4. Bhalchandra Pasupathy10 August 2015 at 12:46

      Abhay, I was just looking through my ref material, and there is something in the Times Listener crossword guidelines, that touches upon this:
      Quote
      Puzzles for which more than half the clues must be solved before entries can be made in the grid are more likely to be rejected since they fail to deliver a principal feature of a crossword.
      Unquote

      Now obviously The Listener is a different kettle of fish compared to our daily crosswords!

      I can mail you the full guide if you are interested

      Delete
  13. Abhay10 August 2015 at 12:14

    I just noticed that my comment of 8:54 has shown up again at 11:38 - with no activity of any kind from my side! I had posted the original comment from my phone. I wonder whether toggling between phone and desktop has anything to do with this?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Vasant10 August 2015 at 12:43

    Coming in late. .though solved before 6:30..very enjoyable crossie as usual from Incognito..

    ReplyDelete
  15. Chaturvasi10 August 2015 at 17:23

    The Independent (of the UK) newspaper's crosswords can now be solved interactively by visiting

    http://puzzles.independent.co.uk/games/cryptic-crossword-independents/

    The facility has just been (re)introduced.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kishore10 August 2015 at 18:10

      Are we to be dependent on The Independent?!

      Delete
  16. Kishore10 August 2015 at 19:52

    Good night, all

    ReplyDelete

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